This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Stop muzzling scientists, protesters tell Tories

Hundreds of frustrated scientists descended on Parliament Hill Monday to demand that the Tories stop muzzling scientists and cutting research funding

Scientists rally on Parliament Hill Monday as Canadian scientists and their supporters hold demonstrations across the country, calling on the federal government to stop cutting scientific research and muzzling its scientists. (Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Scientists donned white lab coats as they rallied on Parliament Hill Monday to protest the muzzling of Canadian scientists and the cutting of research funding. (Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Protesters dressed as scientists take part in an Evidence for Democracy demonstration in Vancouver on Monday. The group was one of several across Canada protesting recent federal government cuts in scientific work and rules regarding releasing of information to the public. (ANDY CLARK / REUTERS)

“What do we want? Evidence-based decision-making!” chanted the protesters as they gathered in the shadow of the Peace Tower, complaining about what they see as the government’s efforts to commercialize research.

The very fact that such a typically apolitical group felt the need to make their voices heard speaks volumes, said Jeremy Kerr, a biology professor at the University of Ottawa.

“As a commentary on the state of affairs, when people like me start showing up wearing their lab coats having come from their laboratories, things are pretty bleak,” Kerr told the crowd.

The Ottawa rally was part of a national series of “Stand Up for Science” protests taking place across the country, organized by Ottawa-based science advocacy group Evidence for Democracy.

The group argues that evidence-based decision-making must inform governmental funding decisions on science. They say current funding has instead shifted towards commercialization of research.

“They want us to put aside what we’re doing and shift our efforts towards industry, and to force us to do that (as) they shift their money towards earmarked projects,” said Bela Joos, a University of Ottawa physics professor.

One protester attached a telescope to a bike helmet and carried a sign that read, “Desperately seeking intelligent life on Parliament Hill!”

Scientists also argue that government cuts have reduced public science projects aimed at helping average Canadians in sectors like health and the environment.

They’re also upset about reports that the Conservative government has taken steps to restrict what scientists and other civil servants are allowed to say to the media.

The Environmental Law Centre at the University of Victoria and the ethics advocacy group Democracy Watch has cited multiple examples of taxpayer-funded science being suppressed or limited to pre-packaged media lines across six different government departments and agencies.

“Cuts to essential scientific programs and services have undermined our society’s scientists’ ability to serve the public good,” said Gary Corbett, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada.

New Democrat Leader Tom Mulcair said the concept of fact-based decision-making goes “completely against the grain” for Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his government.

“The use of scientific information is something that bolsters our ability to protect the public,” Mulcair said.

“Stephen Harper’s shutting down of scientists — of firing them, or of muzzling the ones he hasn’t fired — is for us an approach that goes completely against the nature of a Parliament where things have to be debated openly.”

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com